The Daily Dive

Baseball has been having a rough go as they began their 60 game season amid the pandemic. MLB has paused the 2020 season for the Miami Marlins after an outbreak of COVID-19 among players and staff. One big issue for them is the misalignment between the playing schedule, testing schedule, and protocols for what happens in between. Louise Radnofsky, sports reporter at the WSJ, joins us for more.

Next, the workplace of the “Ellen DeGeneres Show” is under investigation by WarnerMedia after some reports of a toxic work culture and crew furious over poor communication during the coronavirus shutdown. There have not been any direct allegations made about Ellen herself. Matt Donnelly, senior film writer at Variety, joins us for bad news at the Ellen show.

Finally, one of the main symptoms for many that get COVID-19 is losing their sense of smell. Scientists now know why that happens and the good news is, it’s only temporary. SARS-CoV-2 attacks the cells that support smell-detecting neurons, and because they don’t actually attack the neurons themselves, people usually recover after a few weeks. Elizabeth Weise, national correspondent at USA Today, joins us for why the coronavirus attacks your sense of smell.

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What does it take to keep a movie studio open during the pandemic? A lot of work and a lot of coronavirus tests. Pinewood Atlanta Studios will be spending $1.5 million on tests each month once it is operating at full capacity. They are also using an app to track worker’s symptoms between tests, and a badge system that doesn’t let you open any doors on the lot unless you have a negative test. Sarah Krouse, reporter at the WSJ joins us for more.

Next, we all know that those with underlying health conditions are more at risk of getting worse symptoms from COVID-19, but those with diabetes are dying more often. A new government study shows that nearly 40% of people who have died of COVID-19 had diabetes. Robin Respaut, reporter at Reuters, joins us for why coronavirus is killing diabetes patients at alarming rates.

Finally, after six months of the pandemic and less than 100 days to go before the election, many are asking why Trump hasn’t tried harder to solve the coronavirus crisis. No issue has impacted his re-election prospects as the pandemic has, and opponents and allies alike, don’t feel like he has done enough in his response. Dave Clarke, White House editor at the Washington Post, joins us for how Trump is trying to re-focusing on coronavirus.

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The politics of the coronavirus recovery takes center stage this week as Republicans will unveil their stimulus proposal just days before enhanced unemployment benefits are set to expire. The GOP favors a targeted bill to address this issue, but Democrats have rejected that wanting a comprehensive bill. Democrats favor a bill with a price tag closer to $3.5 trillion and Republicans are in at the $1 trillion range. We are also 100 days out from the 2020 election and have a few new polls showing that many do not approve of the way that President Trump has handled the response to the pandemic and show him trailing behind Joe Biden. Ginger Gibson, Deputy Washington Digital Editor at NBC News, joins us to break it all down.

Next, the brand new "Get Wired" podcast takes a look into an app called Citizen, that asks you to report on the crime next door. Millions of users have logged on to the app to view, report, and comment on local incidents in their communities. The key thing is that if someone is close enough to the action, you can live-stream what is going on. This has led some to become stars on the app for broadcasting live. Anthony G. is one such person who gets to the scene of a crime to report, and he's only 12! Boone Ashworth, contributor to Wired, joins us for how Citizen got its start and how it looks to grow.

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This is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories of the week.

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This is a compilation of some of the most compelling stories of the week.

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Six months after the coronavirus appeared in America, the nation’s ineffective response has failed to contain it. There is no unified national response and everything about it has become politicized. Testing continues to remain a problem with long wait times to be tested and to get results, which also makes contact tracing useless. While other countries were able to drive infection rates down, it seems that opening the country back up too soon and without proper guidelines may have been the biggest mistake. Joel Achenbach, reporter for the Washington Post, joins us for America’s response to the coronavirus.

Next, one of Hollywood’s biggest moneymakers is being slowly killed off. Cable TV continues its decline as streaming services ramp up subscribers and entertainment companies return to more niche programming also seeking to host their properties on streamers. Experts suggest that cable subscriptions will bottom out in the next few years forcing companies to invest more in new media. Kate Aurthur, editor-at-large at Variety, joins us for how cable TV is struggling for survival.

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The U.S. has agreed to pay Pfizer and BioNTech nearly $2 billion to secure 100 million doses of their experimental coronavirus vaccine. It still needs to go through phase three trials and be approved by the FDA, but the race is on to secure as many doses as possible. Operation Warp Speed has struck similar deals with other vaccine developers as well. Jared Hopkins, Pharma reporter at the WSJ, joins us for all the money being poured into vaccines.

Next, Congress continues to debate what to do about enhanced jobless benefits that are set to expire at the end of next week. Some 25 million Americans are set to lose an extra $600 a week that were given out to help keep people afloat during the pandemic shutdowns. Also on the table is whether to dish out more individual stimulus payments. Eric Morath, labor economics and policy reporter at the WSJ joins us for more.

Finally, the culture war over wearing face masks continue, and in California, the city of Huntington Beach has become the symbol of mask resistance. Despite evidence that face coverings help limit the spread of the coronavirus, some residents think the virus is over hyped, others are just fed up with constantly changing restrictions. Jake Sheridan, reporter at the LA Times, joins us for why face masks continue to be a point of contention.

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President Trump is planning to send about 150 Homeland Security Investigations agents to Chicago to help local law enforcement deal with a spike in crime. These agents will likely assist in intelligence gathering, targeting drug trafficking groups and gangs. Nick Miroff, DHS reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for why federal agents may be headed to Chicago and other cities.

Next, many restaurants have hit their breaking point and are permanently calling it quits. Riding the roller coaster of coronavirus restrictions and people wary of eating out has proved too much for some to stay in business. Over 15,000 restaurants have permanently closed and more could be on the way. Heather Haddon, reporter at the WSJ, joins us for how the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the restaurant industry.

Finally, vitamin C is a having a moment during the pandemic and sales are surging, but you have to watch out for some offering it up as a coronavirus treatment. The FTC and FBI are investigating health clinics and wellness centers for overhyping high-dose IV infusions of vitamin C as ways to prevent or treat COVID-19. Brent Schrotenboer, investigative reporter at USA Today, joins us for more.

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We are all looking forward to the end game for COVID-19, when the spread of the virus slows down significantly or stops altogether because enough people have immunity to it. Whether it is by vaccine or enough people catching it, we are trying to get to the point of herd immunity, but the math to get there is tricky, and the variables used to calculate keep making it a moving target. Kevin Hartnett, senior math writer at Quanta Magazine, joins us for how the population can achieve herd immunity.

Next, from the beginning of the pandemic and despite calls from governors across the country for a unified national response, the plan has largely been every state for itself. From obtaining your own PPE and setting up your own testing and contact tracing programs, states have been desperate for federal support. Alice Miranda Ollstein, healthcare reporter at Politico, joins us for more.

Finally, the culture war over face coverings continues and it is a growing problem for retail and service workers across the country who are yelled at and sometimes assaulted for asking patrons to wear masks. They have become the primary enforcers for social distancing guidelines inside restaurants and shops even as some think wearing a mask infringes on their rights. Emily Davies, reporter at the Washington Post, joins us for how anti-maskers put business on edge.

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